Sam the Record Man was a Canadian record store chain that, at one time, was Canada's largest music recording retailer. In 1982, its ads proclaimed that it had "140 locations, coast to coast".[1]

The Internet age, competition with the HMV chain and other factors, forced Sam the Record Man into bankruptcy on October 30, 2001, although its flagship location remained in business until June 30, 2007. One independent franchise store, in Belleville, Ontario, continues to bear the Sam the Record Man name.[2]

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The chain was launched in 1937 by Sam Sniderman (d. September 23, 2012) and Sidney Sniderman, as a record department in his family's existing store, Sniderman Radio Sales & Service, at 714 College Street (now home to L Squared Salon) in Toronto.[2] In the late 1950s a second store was opened on Yonge Street. On Labour Day 1961, the new store moved north to its location at 347 Yonge Street where it became a Toronto landmark.[3] Eventually the original College Street location was closed. The flagship store of the competing A&A Records chain was located nearby at 351 Yonge Street. Steeles Tavern was between the two stores at 349 Yonge Street.

Sam's famous neon signs at night, the 'record' on the right is the original store, with the record to the left on the former A&A Records store.

The Yonge Street location was always noted for its kitschy signage.[4] Its first neon signage included the store's address in large neon "347" numbers vertically aligned between two windows.[5] On the left side was a thermometer made from neon. On the far right was a neon multi-sectioned triangle similar to the one on top of the Canada Life Building, which indicated weather conditions depending on how it was blinking.[5] In the late 1960s, the iconic spinning record replaced the previous neon signs, with the second neon record being added in the mid 1980s. The buildings where the sign hung were two Second Empire structures (one building was formerly McDonald and Wilson Lighting store with the second floor bricked off to allow for the sign to be installed, the other was Steeles' Tavern, whose upstairs windows had been bricked off when the store became a women's fashion store (Le Chateau) following the closing of the restaurant.[6][7] Both buildings have since been demolished.

The double-disc neon sign is frequently visible in films shot in Toronto that use Yonge Street as a location. Recent examples include the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk, which features the signs prominently during the final battle sequences, and the CTV/CBS series Flashpoint, which is set in Toronto.

While the exterior of the buildings has been seen in the movies listed above, the interior has not. There exists a common misunderstanding that scenes from Donald Shebib's classic Canadian movie Goin' Down the Road were shot inside the store when they were, in fact, shot inside nearby rival A&A Records.[8] The Barenaked Ladies also paid tribute to the flagship store in the lyrics to their song "Brian Wilson", referring to it as "the late night record shop".

The flagship Sam the Record Man store was famous for its Boxing Day sales and often served as the location for newspaper and television reports on Boxing Day shopping. Shoppers would line up over many city blocks, in the cold, to get one-day-only specially discounted (20% - 25%) records, and eventually, as the technology changed, CDs, and videos. Prices for videotapes were discounted as high as 50%.[2]

The store was also known for its deep catalogue, eclectic selection of imported recordings, time specials, and ever-changing stock of deleted or cut out stock. Some of the walls bore autographs and photographs of various musicians and celebrities (among them Elton John, Iggy Pop, Bruce Springsteen, Liberace, Tony Bennett, Charles Aznavour) who had visited the store. There were in-store appearances (Radiohead, Meatloaf) and, in the later years, in-store performances by various musical artists (Gordon Lightfoot, Blue Rodeo, Daniel Lanois, Saga, Don Ross, Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper, Luka Bloom, Los Lobos). T-shirts and later a complete line of "Sam's Wear" were available for customers to purchase.[10]

The chain stores were early promoters of Canadian artists, because they prominently featured their work with in-store displays, and concerts. Well-known Canadian artists like Loreena McKennitt, Barenaked Ladies, k d lang, Cowboy Junkies, and Ron Sexsmith had their first recordings stocked or consigned at the Yonge Street flagship store, then later throughout the chain.[11] Sam Sniderman played a role in getting the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to implement Canadian content (Can-con) regulations for radio stations in the early 1970s. The move to Can-con allowed many Canadian musicians to gain a voice in their own country.[12] In addition to stocking (and later purchasing) the complete catalogue of the Canadian Talent Library broadcast music (see entries for Chad Allan, Jackie Mittoo, Vic Franklyn, Dr. Music, Peter Appleyard), the flagship store also received copies of every LP record released in Quebec, making it the best source for French Canadian recordings outside of the province of Quebec.[10]

In the late 1960s, Sniderman expanded the business with franchise and corporate stores in Toronto and elsewhere. The expanded business was called Roblan Distributors (named for Sam Sniderman's son Robert and Sid Sniderman's daughter Lana (d. August 2012)) and conducted business at the store level as Sam the Record Man. Some stores were not full franchises but used Roblan Distributors as their principle rack jobber and were known as RD 2000 stores. A warehouse to service the franchises and flagship store was established at 110 Bond Street incorporating the accounting and head offices which had previously been located at Yonge Street. It later moved to much larger facilities at 274 Church Street. This building was demolished and became a parking lot in the late 1990s after record companies agreed to direct ship orders to the franchise stores, thus rendering the need for a central warehouse redundant. (Previous to this the record companies would ship at no cost only to a few designated locations and that with a minimum order value.) The accounting, offices, and some warehousing facilities were moved back to 110 Bond Street, but closed when the chain filed for bankruptcy. Both properties were sold to Ryerson University along with the Yonge Street properties in January 2008.[10]

The chain subsequently expanded to 130 stores (including RD2000 stores) across Canada, before the recorded music and media business started to decline in the 1990s.[2] At one time, the chain was the leading music retailer in Canada.[13]

The chain published a free music magazine (Network) in the late 1980s. One of the features in the magazine was a picture of a commissioned work of art (painting, collage, sculpture) by a local artist (among them Mendelson Joe and Kurt Swinghammer) depicting the store or brand. Some of these graphics were displayed in light boxes installed throughout the store or as the graphics for "Sam's Wear".[10]

The last Sam the Record Man location, located in the Quinte Mall in Belleville, Ontario

In 2001, tough competition, narrow margins, and the availability of free music downloads from the Internet, forced the chain to declare bankruptcy.[12] Most of its 30 corporate-owned stores closed.[12] The Sniderman family was underwriting the chain's debt of $15 million for the previous five years and finally could not continue to lose money.[12] Under new management, Sam Sniderman's sons Jason and Bobby Sniderman reopened the Yonge Street store in 2002, along with 11 franchise stores outside of Toronto.[12] The franchise stores were not a part of the bankruptcy filing, but the corporate stores were. Eventually, all but one of the corporate stores closed. The last corporate store in Halifax, Nova Scotia was shut down on February 20, 2007.[14]

On May 29, 2007, Jason and Bobby Sniderman announced that the iconic flagship store, on Toronto's Yonge and Gould Streets, would close permanently on June 30, 2007.[15] They stated that "their decision reflects the increasing impact of technology on the record industry."[15] There was also increasing pressure to rent out some of the property or sell it to Ryerson University.

On May 30, 2007, supporters started a Facebook group to save the store's neon spinning record signs titled "Save the Sam's Sign!!!"; the group, and its attached online petition, garnered more than 18,000 members.[16] On June 14, 2007, it was announced that the signage, and some of the fixtures and memorabilia from the store would be auctioned by Benaco Sales on June 27. The remaining stock had been greatly reduced to sell but was not sold at the auction sale.[17]

However, on June 22, 2007, the Toronto city council voted in favour of designating the entire property as a heritage site, protecting the entire building, including the landmark signs.[4] The entire building was designated because the Ontario Heritage Act has no provisions to protect store signs.[4]

The corner of Yonge & Gould St. as of 2012.

On January 18, 2008, Ryerson University acquired the property for future expansion of its nearby campus.[18] The former Sam's store is the future location for Ryerson's Student Learning Centre; however on November 11, 2011, Ryerson's president, Sheldon Levy, stated that they may not actually affix the old Sam's sign onto the new building, and will negotiate with the city to see if a cheaper commemoration for the sign can be achieved.[19] On October 4, 2008, the iconic neon signs were lit for the last time as part of Toronto's Nuit Blanche festivities. The removal of the signage commenced shortly after the final lighting, and by mid-March 2009 the building had been partially demolished,[7] As of October 2012, the spot that used to house the demolished building is still empty, although preliminary work for foundation excavation of the new building has begun. The sign is now stored in an undisclosed location, with its fate still in limbo.[20] The last remnants of the Sam the Record Man retail empire is one former franchise store that remains open in Belleville as an independent store.[2][20] The Sarnia store closed in 2009, and the new Ryerson Student Learning Centre (SLC) opened on February 23, 2015.